During surgery, and particularly during vascular surgery, the surgeon typically grasps very fine and delicate sutures during the course of the operation. Conventional surgical clamps are used to grasp the sutures, but in order to protect against damage to the sutures, covers are typically used over the jaws of the clamp. These covers are typically flexible rubberlike tips or boots which slip over the ends of the clamp jaws.
Previously available covers are deficient in that when used in contact with the body, due to the heat of the body, the covers tend to expand and occasionally slip off the ends of the clamp jaws. For this reason, clamp jaw covers are typically made radiopaque so that in the event they are lost in the patient, they can be later found by an examination of an x-ray.